COVID-19 and Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Latin American Children: A Multinational Study.

BACKGROUND: To date, there are no comprehensive data on pediatric COVID-19 from Latin America. This study aims to assess COVID-19 and Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C) in Latin American children, to appropriately plan and allocate resources to face the pandemic on a local and international level. METHODS: Ambispective multicenter cohort study from 5 Latin American countries. Children 18 years of age or younger with microbiologically confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection or fulfilling MIS-C definition were included. FINDINGS: Four hundred nine children were included, with a median age of 3.0 years (interquartile range 0.6-9.0). Of these, 95 (23.2%) were diagnosed with MIS-C. One hundred ninety-one (46.7%) children were admitted to hospital and 52 (12.7%) required admission to a pediatric intensive care unit. Ninety-two (22.5%) patients required oxygen support: 8 (2%) were started on continuous positive airway pressure and 29 (7%) on mechanical ventilation. Thirty-five (8.5%) patients required inotropic support. The following factors were associated with pediatric intensive care unit admission: preexisting medical condition (P < 0.0001), immunodeficiency (P = 0.01), lower respiratory tract infection (P < 0.0001), gastrointestinal symptoms (P = 0.006), radiologic changes suggestive of pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (P < 0.0001) and low socioeconomic conditions (P = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows a generally more severe form of COVID-19 and a high number of MIS-C in Latin American children, compared with studies from China, Europe and North America, and support current evidence of a more severe disease in Latin/Hispanic children or in people of lower socioeconomic level. The findings highlight an urgent need for more data on COVID-19 in Latin America.

Economic Cost of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection Associated to Influenza in Colombian Children: A Single Setting Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Influenza is considered a leading public health problem because its large economic burden of disease worldwide, especially in low-and middle-income countries, such as Colombia. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to estimate the economic costs of influenza-confirmed patients in a pediatric hospital in Cartagena, Colombia. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective costing analysis. We estimated the direct (direct medical and out-of-pocket expenditures) and indirect costs for influenza-confirmed severe acute respiratory infection cases from a societal perspective. Total economic costs were calculated adding direct medical costs, out-of-pocket expenditures, and indirect costs owing to loss of productivity of caregivers. Mean, median, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) and interquartile range (IQR) of costs were measured. All costs are reported in USD ($1.00 = COP$2000.7) RESULTS: Forty-four cases were included in the analysis: 30 had influenza B, 10 influenza A and B, and 4 influenza AH1N1. Thirty patients were hospitalized in the general ward, 14 went to the intensive care unit. The average duration of stay was ∼9 days (95% CI, 6.3-11.5). The median direct medical cost for hospitalized case in general ward was $743.50 (IQR $590.20-$1404.60) and in intensive care unit $4669.80 (IQR $1614.60-$7801.50). The economic cost per hospitalized case was $1826.10 (IQR $1343.30-$2376.50); direct medical costs represented 93.8% of this cost. The median indirect cost was $82.10 (IQR $41.10-$133.40) and the median out-of-pocket expenditure per case was $45.70 (IQR $29.50-$64.90). CONCLUSIONS: Severe acute respiratory infection is an important source of economic burden for the health system, families, and society in Colombia. Seasonal influenza vaccination should be strengthened to prevent more cases and save economic resources.